Saturday, 5 April 2014

Alpaca on the Isle of Wight

The last time I was visiting the I.O.W. I saw these
Alpacas unlike the previous time when I see the Llamas. CLICK HEREto see them. As I didn't know much about Alpacas I had to do a bit of research on them and I will share that with you and hope you find it interesting.

An alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of
South American camelid. It resembles a small Llama in appearance. There are two breeds of alpaca; the Suri alpaca and the
Huacaya alpaca.

An adult Alpaca generally is between 81 and 99 cm in
height at the withers. They usually weigh between 106 and 185 lbs and can live for up to 20 years.

Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of 11,500 ft to 16,000 ft above sea level, throughout the year. Alpacas are considerably smaller than Llamas, and unlike Llamas, they were not bred to be beasts of burden, but were bred specifically for their fiber.

Alpaca fibre is used for making knitted and woven items,
similar to wool. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves,
a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks,
coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fibre comes in more than 52
natural colours as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as
classified in the United States.

In the textile industry, "alpaca" primarily
refers to the hair of Peruvian alpacas, but more broadly it refers to a style
of fabric originally made from alpaca hair, but now often made from similar
fibres, such as mohair, Icelandic sheep wool, or even high-quality English
wool.[citation needed] In trade, distinctions are made between alpacas and the
several styles of mohair and luster.

Alpacas require much less food than most animals of
their size. They generally eat hay or grasses, but can eat some other plants
(e.g. some leaves), and will normally try to chew on almost anything (e.g.
empty bottle). Most alpaca ranchers rotate their feeding grounds so the grass
can regrow and fecal parasites may die before reusing the area.

Alpacas can eat natural unfertilized grass; however,
ranchers can also supplement grass with low-protein grass hay. To provide
selenium and other necessary vitamins, ranchers will feed their domestic alpacas
a daily dose of grain. Free-range
alpacas may obtain the necessary vitamins in their native grazing ranges.

Alpacas are pseudoruminants and have a three-chambered
stomach; combined with chewing cud, this allows maximum extraction of nutrients
from low-quality forages.

Alpacas will chew their food in a figure eight motion,
swallow the food, and then pass it into one of the stomach's chambers. The
first and second chambers (called C1 and C2) are where the fermentation process
begins digestion. The alpaca will further absorb nutrients and water in the
first part of the third chamber. The end of the third chamber (called C3) is
where the stomach secretes acids to digest food, and is the likely place where
an alpaca will have ulcers, if stressed. The alpaca digestive system is very
sensitive and must be kept healthy and balanced.

Alpaca fleece is a lustrous and silky natural fiber.
While similar to sheep’s wool, it is warmer, not prickly, and bears no lanolin,
which makes it hypoallergenic. Without
lanolin, it does not repel water. It is also soft and luxurious. In physical
structure, alpaca fibre is somewhat akin to hair, being very glossy.

The preparing, carding, spinning, weaving and finishing process of alpaca is very similar to the process used for wool. Alpaca fiber is also flame-resistant, and meets the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's standards. Alpacas are typically sheared once per year in the spring. Each shearing produces approximately five to ten pounds of fibre per alpaca. An adult alpaca might produce 50 to 90 ounces of first-quality fibre as well as 50 to 100 ounces of second- and third-quality fibre.

Alpacas have been domesticated for thousands of years.
The Moche people of northern Peru often used alpaca images in their art. There are no known wild alpacas, though its
closest living relative, the vicuña (also native to South America), are
believed to be the wild ancestor of the alpaca. The alpaca is larger than the vicuña, but
smaller than the other camelid species.

Along with camels and llamas, alpacas are classified as
camelids. Of the various camelid species, the alpaca and vicuña are the most
valuable fiber-bearing animals: the alpaca because of the quality and quantity
of its fiber, and the vicuña because of the softness, fineness and quality of
its coat.

Alpacas are too small to be used as pack animals.
Instead, they are bred exclusively for their fiber and meat. Alpaca meat was
once considered a delicacy by Andean inhabitants. Because of the high price
commanded by alpaca on the growing North American alpaca market, illegal alpaca
smuggling has become a growing problem.

Alpacas and llamas can successfully cross-breed. The
resulting offspring are called huarizo, which are valued for their unique
fleece and gentle dispositions.

Alpacas are social herd animals that live in family
groups consisting of a territorial alpha male, females and their young. Alpacas
warn the herd about intruders by making sharp, noisy inhalations that sound
like a high-pitched bray. The herd may attack smaller predators with their
front feet, and can spit and kick.

Not all alpacas spit, but all are capable of doing so.
"Spit" is somewhat euphemistic; occasionally the projectile contains
only air and a little saliva, although alpacas commonly bring up acidic stomach
contents (generally a green, grassy mix) and project it onto their chosen
targets. Spitting is mostly reserved for other alpacas, but an alpaca will
occasionally spit at a human.

For alpacas, spitting results in what is called
"sour mouth". Sour mouth is characterized by a loose-hanging lower
lip and a gaping mouth. This is caused by the stomach acids and unpleasant
taste of the contents as they pass out of the mouth.

Alpacas use a communal dung pile, where they do not
graze. This behaviour tends to limit the spread of internal parasites. Generally, males have much tidier, and fewer
dung piles than females, which tend to stand in a line and all go at once. One
female approaches the dung pile and begins to urinate and/or defecate, and the
rest of the herd often follows.

Because of their preference for using a dung pile, some
alpacas have been successfully house-trained.

Alpacas make a variety of sounds. When they are in
danger, they make a high-pitched, shrieking whine. Some breeds are known to
make a "wark" noise when excited. Strange dogs – and even cats – can trigger
this reaction. To signal friendly or submissive behaviour, alpacas
"cluck," or "click" a sound possibly generated by suction
on the soft palate, or possibly in the nasal cavity.

Individuals vary, but most alpacas generally make a
humming sound. Hums are often comfort noises, letting the other alpacas know
they are present and content. The humming can take on many inflections and
meanings.

When males fight, they scream a warbling, bird-like
cry, presumably intended to terrify the opponent.

Females are "induced ovulators"; the act of
mating and the presence of semen causes them to ovulate. Females usually
conceive after just one breeding, but occasionally do have troubles conceiving.
Artificial insemination is technically difficult, but it can be accomplished.
Alpacas conceived from artificial insemination are not registerable with the
Alpaca Registry.

A male is usually ready to mate for the first time between one and three years of age. A female alpaca may fully mature (physically and mentally) between 12 and 24 months. It is not advisable to allow a young female to be bred until she is mature, as over-breeding a young female, before conception is possible, is a common cause of uterine infections. As the age of maturation varies greatly between individuals, it is usually recommended that novice breeders wait until females are 18 months of age or older before initiating breeding.

The gestation period is 345 ± 15 days, and usually
results in a single offspring, or cria. Twins are rare, occurring about once
per 1000 deliveries. After a female gives birth, she is generally receptive to
breeding again after about two weeks. Crias may be weaned through human
intervention at about six months old and 60 pounds, but many breeders prefer to
allow the female to decide when to wean her offspring; they can be weaned
earlier or later depending on their size and emotional maturity.

I have a short video (if you are still with me n this long post!).

It can be accessed at

http://youtu.be/WVHiWLPjAdA

If there is a black space below, click it and the video will appear.

Thank you for visiting.

Many thanks for those who left comments on any of my posts.I am linking up this post with SATURDAYS CRITTERS.

These are great pics, Margaret! I lived in Bolivia for a year, in the Andes. I know that at the markets items made with alpaca fur were more expensive than those made with llama. And the alpaca was much softer and nicer.

There's a smallholding near us where they have Alpacas. The other day my wife asked me what Alpacas are kept for and I just had to say I didn't really know. Thanks Margaret, now I can tell her and have pointed her in the direction of your blog.

they really are furry. i guess their winter coats? hope they will get warm weather soon to get rid of the fur for a bit. reminds me of a show i love "McLeod's Daughters" they are from Australia. good show. i watch it from Netflix. makes me want to be a farmer ... live out in the wilderness. ( :

these creatures get around, we've several farms here in our area and several years ago we stumbled on one of them, I was fascinated more by their teeth than anything else, you've taken such wonderful photos... (ps our neighbours are not adding a rooster, youpi)

Love your shots of the alpacas Margaret, and such interesting information on them. I had the privilege of visiting an alpaca farm up in Washington a couple of years ago, and they sold lots of items from the wool . Bought a lovely sweater which I enjoy so much.

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About Me

I have retired from a medical background, from teaching a 3 year City and Guilds; and also running a Bed and Breakfast. I have taken up bird watching later in life however I became very enthusiastic from the beginning and was greatly encouraged by other bird watchers. For the past 8 years I have led a bird group in my town and have become a guest speaker on cruise shipstalking about Birds around the world. I have travelled quite a bit,in particular to Australia where one of my daughters lives. I have now as many birding friends there as at home in Northern Ireland. I love Nature and being able to share that with others of like mind. I also like photography and do my best to photograph birds although I sometimes get a bit frustrated as my zoom is just not powerful enough.

My daughter and family that were in Australia have now moved to Malawi to work and I have visited them several times as well as visiting Zambia. I.live in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK and it is a beautiful place to live however I love travelling and wil continnue to travel aslong as I am able. I would love to go to visit bloggers that I follow and they are always very welcome here in N. Ireland.